My first tattoo - I'd never say I regret this tattoo but it was surrounded by such drama that it almost holds bad memories for me, and my reason for getting it was pathetic. But I'll never regret it, because I still like the design, but it doesn't hold the meaning a tattoo should.

My closest friends - people often say that at university you won't make your best friends in freshers week, and I'd say that's true. My second semester definitely brought me closer to the mad lot I'm still friends with now.

My final year of being a teenager - and also a visit from my best friend from Cornwall. I woke up on my birthday morning to Keele covered in snow, but that didn't stop a very messy celebration with a great group of - really drunk - friends.

A trip to London Zoo - my boyfriend at the time took me on a trip to London Zoo which was such a brilliant day out, I'd definitely go there again! I'd love to go with my niece and nephew one day. 

Woodstoke - 2013 was my first year to experience Keele's mini-festival type event, with fair ground rides and some fantastic performances. The weather was horrendous - how typical - so everyone was wondering about in waterproof ponchos and I called it a night at 5:30am.

Home - I rarely get to pop home because of how far away it is, and no the 6th photograph isn't my house (dammit) but it is in Cornwall. I made it back for my Grandma's 80th birthday and we went for a lovely meal before I popped off back up country again.

A visitor - one of my closest friends from Keele, Molly, popped down to Cornwall for a visit in July. We spent a week together at my house, I still had to work but she got some well needed sleep and sun bathing in. And it was lovely to have one of my Keele friends come all the way down 11 hours on a bus! 

A quiet summer - in August I made the decision to leave my job - and a lot of money - my family and my home to move back up to Keele with my boyfriend at the time. The summer was quiet with him working a lot and me spending most of my time inside because no one was really around and I was also too skint to do anything. Summer was a bit of a turning point for me.

A new home - in September I moved in with 5 of my closest friends from halls in first year. We moved into a 6 bedroom house which we all dwell cosily in. We moved in a week before freshers commenced and made sure we celebrated as much as we could with drinking both in and out. 

The brief single life of a devil - October was a really odd month for me. Halloween was my fourth night out as a single lady, and my friend wasn't having the best of nights, so to cheer him up I helped him drink £80's worth of shots - he wasn't that cheered up when he checked his bank balance in the morning.

Mike - he's easily one of the best things to happen to me in 2013. During November I also finally visited Faye's house in Sheffield, it was possibly the best weekend I'd had in ages! It was so relaxing and I even got a lovely bit of retail therapy done, just to injure my bank account that tiny bit more!

A family Christmas - I've had a brief stay in Cornwall, with exams looming and the worry of having another horrendous 14 hour journey home rather than the less daunting 11 hours. My sister cooked up a cracking Christmas dinner and I got some lovely presents as well as donations for Thailand. It's been lovely being home but I'm excited to get back and kick off 2014 with exam revision (yay) and everything else I've got in store. 

2014 is a big year for me. It'll take me to Thailand, into my final year of university, into my 20's and I'm sure on many more adventures. 

So here I am, almost at the end of 2013, half way through my time at Keele. I've made it to (almost) the end of my first semester of second year having met my deadlines and so far achieved mostly 2:1's and a cheeky little first.

I just thought I'd talk a little bit more about my degree - particularly my modules. This isn't something I do often on my blog, so let me know if you'd like to hear more about my studies!

If you don't know, I study English and American Literature, and I have quite a wide range of modules to choose from, so this year I did my compulsory modules, called Victorian Performances (English Lit) and Romance of Fiction (American Lit) and decided to go for a film module, French Cinema, a media and communications module, Teenage Dreams and finally another American Lit module based around religion called Burning Crosses.

This semester has by far been my favourite lot of modules, I enjoyed Burning Crosses and Teenage Dreams so much that I barely even noticed I was doing 5 modules instead of the usual 4 this semester. 

So onto what I thought of them:

Victorian Performances pained me to say the least. I'm not a fan of the Victorian era of writers. The plays and sonnets seemed to just drag on. I was interested by the works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and that's about as far as it goes for my enjoyment in this module! I've still got a seen exam ahead of me in January and only recently did my other 2 assessments for the module; an individual presentation and an adaptation exercise. My presentation was terrifying, they're terrifying enough in a group but this individual one saw me shaking away. I had to do it on Arthur Hugh Clough's Amours de Voyage, and it's written in such a complicated way (for someone who isn't a fan of Victorian writing anyway) that I really struggled to know what to analyse. I managed to whip up 3 minutes (out of a possible 5 minute time slot) worth of rambling and am awaiting my grade...I don't have exceptionally high hopes but my fingers are crossed for at least a 2:2! 

For the adaptation exercise we had to use one of the texts we'd studied and turn it into what ever we wanted. We could change genre, we could write it into a modern day piece, or keep it Victorian and make it into a play, novel, dramatic monologue, sonnet...basically, the possibilities were endless. I decided to take Sonnet 43 from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets From the Portuguese and adapt it into the final chapter of a drama novel about a woman in love with heroin...my brother gave me the idea to do this and honestly, it's pretty weird. 

If you'd like a read of my 1000 word adaptation do let me know!

Romance of Fiction was mainly made brilliant by my lecturer, Ian Bell, who is such a great lecturer. All the texts were quite interesting and I particularly liked the Edgar Allen Poe texts we studied. I chose to do my short paper on the theme of mortality within Masque of the Red Death managing a satisfying 2:1. I've got an unseen exam to tackle in January, so that should be fun!

Burning Crosses was one of my favourite modules, once again made more enjoyable by my lecturer, James Peacock. We studied many texts themed around religion, and I really liked most of the authors on this modules. The section on 'The Beats' was brilliant studying Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac and their Buddhist beliefs. We had to do an annotated bibliography as a group in preparation for a group presentation in week 11, both of which we got a 2:1 in. We also studied an image called 'Piss Christ' which was a really interesting and controversial topic which I hope to focus on in the unseen exam next year!

My other favourite module was Teenage Dreams. I'd highly recommend this module to anyone. It's all about subcultures and is so interesting and enjoyable to study. Even my essays were enjoyable to write, talking about Trainspotting, The Who, mods and rockers. I got a first in my short paper and recently handed in my 2,500 essay which I hope to do just as well in!

Finally, French Cinema. I love studying films as I was a big fan of media at A level and always excelled in it (humble brag). Going for French Cinema was definitely a little different but we got to study all sorts of films, such as Romance, Amelie and Entre Les Murs. Romance was pretty racey whilst Amelie is just a brilliant film, definitely worth watching if you haven't already! I got 2:1's in my presentation and sequence analysis and have an essay to do for next year.

It's been a pretty whirlwind semester, starting off with far too much drinking, ending with the desire to sleep for days at a time. My brother came up for a visit in my final week and we both arrived home on Sunday. I've had the lovely treat of returning to work desperate to earn some money during the nice and busy Christmas period.

There ain't no rest for the wicked I suppose.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas!

It's taken me quite some time to get around to blogging about this, but alas, the time of deadlines is temporarily over, and I can sneak a little more blogging time in...that is before my exams and essays need my attention.

For the first time since my little blog began I decided to particpate in a bloggers secret Santa. Doing this as a group of friends or with your work colleagues is a pretty common thing to do, but exchanging presents amongst a group of mostly strangers is definitely different!

The lovely Hannah for Hannah Bee set up this secret Santa swap and I played Santa for Hannah from Dainty and Ivory. It felt a bit weird to practically stalk Hannah's brilliant blog, and her Instagram feed, to find out what her hobbies and likes were, but I hope I did a good job! I had a budget of £10 but I honestly can't remember if I stuck to it, and who minds at Christmas aye! 

To see what I got Hannah, click here!

Now, onto what I got! My secret Santa initially kept their name a secret (as I guess you're suppose to - but we bloggers like to thank the person who sends us a gift), sending me a lovely Christmas card signed off as Santa, but after an excited tweet about the lovely presents I'd received, I got a reply from Sophie, blogging over at Cider with Sophie.

This year, I've become pretty crazy about Christmas. It's mainly the influence of my Christmas mad housemate and friend, Sara. She starts her Christmas countdown on January 1st and anything with words relevant to the Christmas season cause her to squeal with child-like joy. So you can see how her excitement can easily rub off on you - either that or it'll cause you to be a total scrooge.

Fortunately for her, I've become over whelming excited by the Christmas season! I've joined in with Megan's Christmas tag, slightly adapted by the lovely Georgie, to show you just how excited I am (in all honesty you won't sense even an ounce of the excitement I'm actually feeling).

What's your favourite Christmas movie?

Oh gosh, I don't think there's possibly one. Love Actually, The Holiday, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Grinch, Jingle All the Way (Sara's favourite I must mention!) and so so many more. I go nuts over films any time of year, but Christmas ones really are the best. I'll watch them all year round just to get that heart warming Christmassy feeling, and shed a tear of joy or two! 

What is your favourite Christmas scent?

Honestly, the smell of a real Christmas tree is enough to make me happy! In my 19 years my family home has never not had a real one and walking in the door to that pine smell just beings back brilliant childhood memories. 

Do you stay in your PJ's or dress up for Christmas day?

We spend a good couple of hours having breakfast and opening our stockings and a present or two before getting out of our PJ's, and then I'll usually change into something a little less comfy but nothing dressy! I usually save dressing up for when more of the family come over on Boxing Day. New Years Day is usually the one I go all out for!

Do you and your family open gifts on Christmas eve or Christmas day?

We have an odd way of opening presents. We don't tend to open any before Christmas day unless they're from friends or secret santas, but otherwise we open about 3 a day starting from Christmas day and continuing as long as the presents last! As children, my siblings and I found it a real struggle, but it's made us appreciate each and every present SO much more, so I'm really grateful my parents persevered and that we still do it to this day.

Favourite holiday song?

Has to be Wham - Last Christmas. I loved it so much as a child and it's still a favourite of mine. 

Favourite Christmas meal or treat?

I treat myself all year round. But aside from that, I love Chistmassy buffet food on boxing day! I do love the Christmas dinner too of course, but need that be stated?!

Does it snow where you live?

When I'm up in Keele it definitely does! Usually not until January though so I still rarely experience a white Christmas. But down in Cornwall we get a little but it rarely settles, and to be honest, it's a pain in the ass if it does. Have you seen the panic this country goes into with a little bit of snow?!

Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

As I said earlier Christmas wouldn't be the same in my house without a real one, so real, always real. Up at uni, this year we have an adorable little sparkly silver one, and I'm quite glad it's fake, because the hoovering rarely gets done here, and I don't think I could be bothered with all the falling pines!  

What is most important to you about Christmas?

I think as a kid it was always just a madly exciting day, but now I'm older, and especially as I'm away for months at a time, it's being with my family. I think that's the most important thing (as cheesy as it sounds). The gifts are always lovely but if I had a choice between presents and my family, the latter would always win!

I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas and that all my fellow students enjoy the time back at home before the dreaded January exams! My holiday is going to be packed with catch ups, work back at Sainsbury's, revision and essay writing...oh such fun!

After having early celebrations with Faye's family last weekend in Sheffield for her birthday, we moved the celebrations down to Sara's home town, Birmingham, to snoop around the infamous German Christmas market that we'd heard so much about. 

Five of us had a delightful journey stood next to the toilet, having already lost 3 comrades to the clutches of their bed, and another 1 to...erm well, a haircut he really needed to get. We survived the smelly cramped journey and made it to Birmingham a little dazed by the crowds and already scoping out the emptiest Nando's to grab some lunch. 

I'd never heard of the German market up until last year (there's my sheltered life shining through again) and two of the boys we were with had never really been to Birmingham, so it was nice to have a good wonder around. We popped to and fro from the Bullring back to the markets, with a few other detours along the way. Our oddest detour had to be when we ended up in the art gallery and museum, which we spent most of our time in, fascinated by the history of Brum/playing with all the interactive things put in place to keep children entertained. 

We had to wait a little for a table in Nando's whilst I moaned about feeling ill, but once we were seated and our food was served up we were all pretty happy to get back to some shopping. I didn't splurge much money at the market aside from some delicious doughnuts and chocolate covered fruit, but everything did look really lovely...it was just a shame I had very little money to spend! 

The day in Brum ended in Cafe Nero with the chance to re-cooperate with a caramel latte before facing the busy trains again, at least this time we got a seat!

Once back at the house we weren't allowed much resting time with Faye's and her friends joint birthday to get to...which we were already late for. Once the lambrini (yes, my budget's got THAT low) was flowing and we were all dressed up we got on the move to the house party around the corner, which was definitely eventful!

I can assure you Faye woke up on her birthday with a smashing hangover and the wise decision to spend the day in PJ's, eating Maccie's and watching films...we of course, respected this decision. 

It's only 14 days until I return home to Cornwall now! This semester has seriously flown by. 

So...

Cue the end of semester panic, it's deadline time.

So I've managed to neglect my lovely little blog for over a month now...how I've managed to do this I couldn't even tell you! Life's moving at a unfathomable pace right now, we're already on week 10 at university!

In the essay department, I've had 1 first and a 2:1 so far! It's been an unusual semester with less short essays and many more daunting long essays and dreaded January exams...so I've got plenty of revision to look forward to when I set my feet back down on Cornish soil.

Though the Cornish soil is still 17 days away and my feet have recently been pattering down in the Sheffield area. After over a year of knowing my lovely Yorkshire lass Faye, myself and Sara finally managed to make a trip to her house. It was the best weekend I've had in ages, and her family - having met her parents before - were as lovely as always.

We made a car journey north with Faye as our driver and navigator. On the navigation front we really had to put all our trust in her, with such comments as 'I don't know where we are any more lads' and 'We have to take a left...somewhere' not giving us much confidence we'd make it there alive.
We arrived (alive) to the welcoming arms of Faye's mum and brother whilst her dad was still hard at work. After settling in with a cuppa we shot off to discover the amazing Toby Carvery...well, it was a discovery for me anyway, like every other well known place that I haven't heard of due to my sheltered life.

Once we got back home another cuppa was poured and we got into our onesies for an evening of popcorn and films, all cosied up next to the fire.